Tuesday, February 14, 2012

This sweet child of mine is growing up so fast. Just a few months ago he was completely dependent on us for everything. Now, he actually is mobile and can communicate. And when I say mobile, I mean that he finally has started walking. He's still mostly crawling, but he now can walk about 10 feet across the floor before he either reaches a piece of furniture or decides to sit. While this is exciting (and at the same time terrifying) the cooler thing is that he is also starting to use sign language to communicate. We've been trying to teach him (and ourselves) sign language. We haven't used a whole lot of signs, but just this week he has signed "more" and "all done," in addition to "milk" (which has been doing for a few weeks, though he prefers the dive and grab approach for that one...). We are so excited that he is now able to express his own feelings to us (and the cats). He has been waving hello and goodbye for a few weeks now and he especially likes to greet the cats whenever they enter a room with a quick wave, but they usually decide to vanish when they realize they've been made!

This week for the bubbly we didn't just have a bottle after Ben went to bed as we usually do. We invited a group of friends over for a Valentine's Day party, sans babies. We asked each couple to bring a bottle of bubbly to share. All told, we had six bottles of sparkling wine and a sparkling wine-based punch that also included rum and pomegranate. The punch was a hit and we only opened three of the bottles. It was a fun way to celebrate the holiday and try a few different bubblies in one sitting. I was more concerned with cooking (though I still managed to over-grill the oysters) and didn't take notes on the wines, but I'll at least give my general impressions.

Gruet Winery, Brut Rosé, New Mexico 12% abv This wine was a beautiful pink color is loaded with red berry aromas and flavors. If you want strawberries, raspberries and cherries along with bubbles at a great price, grab a bottle of this top-notch New Mexican wine. Very Good

Trevisiol Prosecco, Extra Dry, Italy 11.5% abv My disappointment with Prosecco continues. I often find Proseccos flat and soulless and this was no different. It tastes like non-descript sparkling wine. Average

Domaine Chandon, Brut Classic, California 13% abv This California sparkler with French roots was nice a more like true Champagne than the Prosecco, but still not a complete wine. It had the apples, toast and citrus flavors I like in my bubbly. Overall, it is nice, but a bit simple and not memorable. Good